Bike Path Run-Around, NCCC, SOB's & Rancho Racers

Bike Path Run-Around with NCCC, SOB & Rancho Racers. Whew, I'm cooked!

Ahhh. I see NCCC riders are doing a take-off of a rando route. I figured I would give back-to-back ride days a go. I could put it in cruise and save it up!

Aired up the worn G'skin Hardshell on the Fuji stealth bike and added the front bag for my stuff. Arm warmers is all I needed for the ride in. Thought I could get in some early riding and then swing by the NCCC regular riders for a bit.

After riding around and returning home, I finally got over to Restaurant Row at 0820. Chatted with rando Robert and Tony Long and the other riders. This Greg guy from Fallbrook was measuring chains for stretch. Said mine was long done and would be skipping on the big climbs today. Ya, right.. guess I'll have to cancel the ride and go get a Shimano 6701 chain right away!

Fast pace around soon we were doing some steeper climbs up 11th street in Escondido. Tony and Robert were blasting by me easily. Could be a real long day for me. I did the cut around after Lake Hodges and hooked up with this big guy with aero bars. He was crankin on the flats & downhills. I was right there. We dropped everybody except 3 riders who were long gone. I said "adios" at the San Dieguito Road turn.

Rolled into the SR-56 Bike Path stop at Circle K. HUH? NCCC long riders were there! Said hello, filled my bottles and got out of there. I stopped for free bananas at the Del Sur/Bike Path table. One NCCC racer guy went by. I chased him down and cruised with him. Soon the others were hammering by. I picked up with them to the coast. They stopped for a walk-up regroup at the dirt ramp to El Camino Real. Time for a rolling break for me.

SOB riders from Fallbrook.

Felt good on the Del Mar climb on 101. Ramped it up some and joined a group of 6 riders wearing SOB jerseys. "Seniors On Bikes" These older guys were from Fallbrook and you know what that means. They were hauling the mail. I notice one rider's seat bag was open and told him. Oh, OH! Keys were missing? He and his buddy stopped and checked. I sprinted ahead to the other 4 riders. They didn't ride in a neat group, but were scattered along the road. I chatted a bit with all of them. Said they were going to Fallbrook. Guess I'll draft along. We were cruising the SLR at 23mph with a slight tailwind. At College Ave, these guys turned off to the parking lot. HUH? Either they were taking a break or getting their cars? I rode solo to Bonsall.

Arrived at McDonalds and several Ranchos riders were there. I took a break with my usual. Soon more Ranchos came in. I knew they were going back to Via Rancho Pkwy in So. Escondido the same way I was. These guys would blow me away. I got out of there quick awaiting them storming up from the rear soon.

Ranchos Team is fast!

Two Ranchos  caught me before Lawrence Welk. I recognized Lee Swartz from years past in the NCCC group. She was riding with her husband. We chatted and talked old time on the climb up to Deer Springs and on to Centre Center. I said "thanks for the pull" and turned off at Nutmeg and back to San Marcos. Day done.

Another good day on the bike. Felt only OK with the fast regular NCCC riders early. Warmed up good the NCCC racers on the bike path. SOB's were hitting it good and I was pulling by then. Nice ride with the Ranchos to finish out the ride. Wearing my old nice yellow/red NCCC club jersey from 10 years ago.

Mostly sunny all day
Hi: 88     Lo: 56
88 miles

-randorides

Keith's Coffee At Peet's ride

Stats from todays Rando ride: Coffee At Peet's #1020

Keith Olsen wanted to do a short Populaire after Thanksgiving so we chose this one. Friday or Saturday ride? How about Friday?

Started late just before 0800. No need for any warmers today with this start time. Keith parked over at Albertson's on Woodland Pkwy., so I got duplicate receipts from the 7-Eleven start and rode over. Saw him coming and jumped the center divide and we were soon on our way. Keith had another new wheelset on his Litespeed today. Same build as his Holland bike. Used the higher end White Industries blue hubs. Said they roll good. Also added a Utlegra compact crankset and corresponding chain. Major investment there $$.

Weather was perfect with no wind at all. Nice quick 18 mph pace on Camino del Rey over to Bonsall Mc'
D's. After a refill and receipt we rode a fast 20 mph pace with imagined tailwind over to the SLR. Not much going on there today, with few riders this late in the morning. Pier had a bunch of surfers out, but the surf was low. Stopped at Magee Park for a whizz-fizz.

Keith had another new wheelset using White Hubs. Nice!

Nice pace down the coast with a short pull from some wanna-be racer. Made the usual stop at Swami's for a snack & refill. Rode the back-way thru Del Mar for a change. Beach was crowded. Quiet ride on the SLR. NCCC rider Tony Long caught up to us and we chatted about his Black Friday buys over at Performance Bike in Sorrento Valley. He was on his way back to Sabre Springs Road in Poway. Left him and made our stop at the Circle K on Camino Del Mar. Sat a bit and refilled our bottles after getting a 20 cent receipt treat.

Did some out of the saddle work on any climb encountered today. Ankle didn't hurt with the SOMA pedal set-up. Good training stuff. Keith said his weight was down to 179.5 lbs now. Hope he follows through and gets it down to where he can do longer brevets and climbs comfortably soon. A few more little climbs then we crossed the Lake Hodges Bridge with no water under. Took the Inland Rail Trail and stopped off at Keith's car at the Albertson's lot. Keith's daughter Magee, made up some "recovery tea" and he gave me a few packets of that. Guess I'll let Zaharah try that. Hehe. Left Keith and finished up at 7-Eleven.

Nice casual ride today. Felt good after and did my normal recovery stuff. Might do a faster pace NCCC ride tomorrow (Saturday) but who knows?

Clear skies
HI: High 80's     Lo: 59
83 miles

-randorides

Bills Audax Rayong 200 Thailand Video

Bill Stevenson at the finish of the Audax Rayong 200K Brevet

San Diego Randonneur & North County Cycle Club member Bill Stevenson, recently rode a 200km Brevet in Rayong, Thailand. He did a short ride report and sent back some photos of his ride. I managed to put together the components to make a route video.

I started out by d/l several pics from Thailand. Then made up the Map from the RIDEwithGPS route. Added a few notes to that and worked over the Elevation Profile. I then analyzed the ride report vs the photo captions and tried to make a route video of the whole thing that made sense to cyclists looking for route information. Using ProShow Gold, I added some effects, photo captions and Thai music to round out the "Thai Theme" of the presentation.

Video of Bills Audax Rayong Brevet

-randorides

University Loop bonkie

Clear skies
Hi: 87     Lo: 52
127 miles

Sandia Creek Century...NCCC cruise around

Loaded by HF Sundae with Hammer Gel

The Sandia Creek Century is simply a remake for the Busted In DeLuz Permanent. I checked over the local NCCC Saturday ride schedule and several groups were heading up Old 395 too. Long riders were going to DeLuz. Maybe I'll bump into them? Reverse course. Worked on Alan's Birthday Ride video till 10 PM. Then up at 0400 today to upload it to U-Tube. With all the upload stuff, notices sent out by email to the OFR riders and posting up to the OFR blog it was a scrambling internet morning. I work in the power breakfast with computer time, so it's an easy flow. Left at sunup, no lights and started the reverse course.Arctic Guard long sleeve under-layer with SDrando woolie on top.

Decided on a different way northward this trip. Took the Circle R, Lilac Road route for a change. Saw the black/red kits of SDBC? riders. Yelled at George Vargas and honey friend on a tandem, pulling the load on Lilac Road. Did the climbing loop around and didn't see any NCCC riders around DeLuz. Stopped at Bonsall on the way back to a Hot Fudge Sundae topped with some dated Hammer Gel from my carry-alone side bottle. Tasted good.

Rode a good pace on the SLR Bike Path to Oceanside. (I was thinking how quick Mike Shaw rides the eastward bound way). I was racing to catch up with a red/white shirted rider ahead on a TREK I finally sneaked up on him as we ramped up on Pacific Street. Rode with him over past Pacific Cycles. Stopped to chat with Gretchen a bit. Finally pick up a group of dark green jersey/Velo-Nutz? riders and followed them to LaCosta Ave. Pulled a carbon Bianchi rider over to the Circle K. Stopped there for a bit of bottle fill.

One-pound Snicker Bar on display. Only 2300 calories!

Looked around for something cheap. Finally found 3/$1 carmel chews. I got one for .39 cents! Noticed a display of large Snicker bars on the counter. These suckers were heavy! 1 pound Snicker bar for $19.95. Lady paying for gas with all loose coins (like $30 worth) asked if I was buying one? At 230 calories per slice, I don't think so. (I calc'd the whole bar was 2300 calories!) Rode south on the sidewalk and turned up Levante Street. Finally found John Mestemacher house (Noticed his SDrando sticker on the Element out front). Climbed up to San Marcos and rode thru Restaurant Row.

Stopped and talked to Tony Long, Robert Abraham and a few other NCCC riders returning from their route. Recalling the Kitchen Creek ride last week and what was up with them of late. After getting stiff, I rode east thru the CSUSM campus and went north on Woodland Pkwy. Stopped at the Bible Church, where Zaharah had her knitting booth set up. Looked busy there with live entertainment and 40 booths set up. Got a free muffin and rolled back for finish receipt at 7-Eleven.

Some out of the saddle work today on the climbs. Of late, it has really sucked. Had a slight groin pain on the right side at times. Added some White Flower to the left ankle early on Circle R climb. Another good day and the weather was super with light winds. Temps look to warm up over the next week as high winds are moving in for Thanksgiving. Poor Sam Thomas is on his trainer back in Albany, NY.

Clear skies
H: 84     Lo: 53
95 miles

-randorides

Alan's Birthday Ride To Peets

Alan Lubic's 81st Birthday Ride

Alan Lubic's birthday today! I understand the OFR Gruppo is doing a ride over to Peet's Coffee via Alan's route in celebration! Alan is one of the few riders older than me in that group. I need to arrive at Magee Park in Carlsbad before 0830.. that means I leave San Marcos at 0600 and ride John's "Coffee At Peet's Populaire".

Official Twin Oaks reporting station was 42 degrees when I rolled the SOMA out from home, late as usual. I was padded real well with wool long socks, leg warmers, Woolistic SD Rando jersey, wool arm warmers over a long sleeve underlayer and my woolie type cap (Made from a Wal-Mart double black beanie cap cut in half). Long finger glove liners under my stiff worn out, but just washed, fingerless gloves. Headlamp and double blinkies and I was rolling. Temps had to be in the high 30's? Needed sunlight soon. Left the start Control at 6:15 and headed north.

Hitting a high point and cruising along at 19mph on Camino del Rey. Must be a tailwind? A few commuter cars & pick-up along here pre 0800 usually. Stopped at Bonsall Mickie D's for a receipt. Cookies I think? 0735 when I left. Cranked 'er up on 76 to a steady 23mph (more tailwind?) Starting to warm up a bit now. Couldn't wait for a whiz-bang as I pulled into Magee Park bathroom at 0820. Great time? Several people milling around there by the church. Someday I'll ask what they are doing there every morning. Looks like a short service and then food! Stripped down and packed my stuff on front bag. Rolled over to several riders about to leave southward.

Regroup in Del Mar

Cruised along with them... Dee, Joe, Goose, and another friendly guy (lives in Fallbrook and put his motorhome by the beach in Camp Pendleton for relaxing evening by the water). No pick-ups at Poinsettia Lane today. Rolled into Swami's at 0910 to a mass of people (around 20), all there for Alan's ride. Took a few pics and chatted around about stuff. Left around 0930 and rode Alan's way south to Peet's. Back way thru Del Mar. After a regroup start, gal went down into some bushes and sidewalk. OUCH. Scraped up and lite blood letting. Several stops along the way to help her out with band-aids and wipes.

Saw this older MTB guy riding along the SR-56 Bike Path on a GT Peace 29'er steel frame. Chatted with him all the way to Camino del Sur. I need a bike like that with no suspension. He said he uses his arms and legs over the rough stuff instead of having a front suspension. This guy was slim and short.(When I got back home, I looked the bike specs up on the internet. They made them for a year or two in 2010-2012). Anything would work to get on the trails again.

Guy riding a GT Peace 29'r. Nice!

I stopped over at the Circle K for a receipt. Sat outside and watched people. Filled my bottles and rode over to Peet's Coffee place. The gruppo was getting ready to leave. Took a few more shots and rode with them up to San Dieguito Road where they turned toward the ocean. I kept going straight up to Rancho Bernardo and followed the route over the Hodges Bike Bridge (sign says hours are 6:00 AM to 9 PM). Paced up El Ku and hit the Inland Rail Trail to San Marcos ( no Gamble Lane today) Done.

Nice ride today. Large group turn out for Alan's Birthday Ride. I went home and started on a video of the ride. Needed to get this out quick (good luck.. ended up taking till Friday evening). Overall good ride with some bust-ass riding to beat the early clock to Magee Park. After that, it was more "cruise mode". Need to plan something this weekend with Keith?

Alan's Birthday Ride Video

Clear skies
Hi: 78     Lo: 42
84 miles

-randorides

Recovery Round Trip To Bussey's & Nytro

After hours at the keyboard working on projects, it's time to get out of Dodge! Left after the sun was well up, but still wore some arm warmers and a woolie cap. They came off real quick and were packed up front in due order. I headed north and met 3 paceline riders near Champagne Village. At least they waived! Loosened up now, so I cranked er up to 18 and had a easy ride over to Bonsall McDonalds.

The old Moustache Handlebar style

Chatted with 2 older riders there. Short Filipino guy on a TREK and a big guy riding a Giant with the old Moustache handlebar up front.(Years ago, I was really looking at a new '93 Bridgestone RB-1 with those same bars.) Guys said they were going to Escondido as they were packing away the double burgers and fries. I said I was going to Escondido too, but over to Oceanside, Del Mar and around that way! Left westward with no wind help.


No traffic to speak of this late in the morning on the 76. Hit the SLR and hoped to pick up some riding buddies, but that didn't happen. If fact, very lite bike traffic today. Turned off the SLR at Benet St. and climbed up Canyon Dr. Cut over and sneaked into Dan Phillips Auto shop the back way. Box of donuts was still on the counter. None for me this trip. Dan & I talked about the KC-200 on Saturday. Dan wanted to add some carrying straps to the front of his HB bag, so we checked out my SOMA bag set-up. Works great for packing clothes or putting them on while riding. He likes to ride hands-free anyway.

Cruised down the coast to Pacific Coast Cycles to check out the Salsa Fargos and other used wide tire bikes out front. Way out of my used bike price-range. Set up a nice tempo riding south into a slight headwind.Finally caught up to 2 strong road guys and hung on to Encinitas. Stopped off at Nytro and refilled by bottle. Sat outside and watched the riders go by while eating a banana & my cashew-butter/crackers. Joe was selling another hi-end bike. Said hello and rode over to Swami's, where there was a Jamacian trio playing there. Quite good. Not much surfer activity do to low wave height today.

2015 Fargos are in. Gunmetal Grey. Look great!

Stopped at Revolution Bike in Solana Beach to check out the bikes. They had several new Fargos. One grey one with straight front fork. Marked 18" but seemed real tall for me. Felt light. Had Woodchippers and thru axles. Salesman Mick yelled out to me about his blue Fargo. It was parked over in the bike rack. I rode over to check it out. He had all the bottles on the front forks, frame bag, seat bag, front bag. Looks like he was ready for some real bikepacking instead of a commuter bike!

Headed inland and up to Rancho Santa Fe town. Not much rider activity this afternoon on Del Dios Highway into a headwind. No wonder! Cut over on Citracado to Harmony Grove. Came up on a shirtless MTB rider on too small a bike. Said "hi". He looped off by some cars. Looked to me like he was checking to see if any windows were down! Had a nice pace over on Barham and back to San Marcos.

Warm riding today with lite winds from the NE. Kept thinking of Sam Thomas in Albany, NY plowing out in mid-November! Guess he won't be using his new Go-Pro camera any time soon on the bike.

Clear skies
Hi: 73    Lo: 41
71 miles

-randorides

Kitchen Creek 200 Brevet: Clear cool skies & some wind!

My Garmin Stats from today's Kitchen Creek 200 Brevet

Around 20 riders at the start on this coolish Saturday in Pine Valley. John Mestemacher was nice enough to give me a lift out for this great route. Also, our buddy Dan Phillips (sans Thailand Bill Stevenson) would be joining up too! After careful study of previous KC rides and today's weather, I decided to go with long orange rando socks to match the wool SDrando jersey. 1 long sleeve under layer only and a woolie cap with long sleeve glove liners under my fingerless riding gloves. I packed on my front bag a reflective wind vest (see previous post for how I made this) and wool arm warmers for the evening ride in. (This combo turned out to be absolutely perfect for the conditions today!).

Planned on taking some pics today, I attached a cheapo video camera to my front stem  and hung the old Canon Powershot AS-1100 around my neck. Brought extra new AA batteries for an eventful day of riding. Pre-ride prep shots of riders is the best part. You get all kinds of weird stuff going on and it's easy to add a funny caption to it later. I rode around a bit to check the air temp on my body clothing. Ended up chatting with a large group of MTB'ers at the Pine Valley Store. All Asians, so I called them the "Ninja MTB's". No cheap rigs on the back of those Toyota's! Dennis sent us off at 0700, under a rising sun under clear cool skies. (Check action video "Kitchen Creek 200" for more vivid details!)

RBA Dennis Stryker preps the riders up before the start.

Racers were off the front on the first 2 climbs out of Pine Valley. Others settled in to their groups for the downhill blast through the INS checkpoint on the way to Buckman Springs Road in the sunshine. Nice! Dan almost missed the Buckman turn as John yelled out "TURN" just in time! His dirt riding skills saved a turn crash! Almost all downhill now as John and Steve Elliott cranked er up. Entered a lite-fog bank and the temp dropped a few degrees, hovering near 40 degrees. My first set of batteries were already shot, so I finally managed to change a set over in the saddle. Easy ride to the Campo Circle K.

Store was packed. Clerk was overwhelmed with all the riders. I got the cheapest thing I could find. Line for the bathroom, so Dan suggested his "outfence" location. That worked good and eventually we got moving again. Our little group grew a bit with Michael Futch and Dave Horwitt joining John, Dan and I. Mike and I were chatting about rando MTB stuff and we slowly wound our way up toward the Southern Pacific Trestle Bridge. Passed tandem pair Kathy & Jack Twitchell and also Lisa Nicholson. Glen Pinson and Seattle Rando Andy Speier turned off to find a 12mm wrench at the Fire Station. (Andy's seat was out of adjustment real bad - see video).

Dan Phillips scenic downhill to Boulevard

Downhill free-fall through Bouvelard and Bankhead Springs ghost town. One real nasty section of road before we passed the "little people" peeking from the bushes on the downhill to Jacumba. Met several riders who already had made their turn-around at the Control in Jacumba. More riders were leaving as we approached the Mountain Sage Market. Andy rode over to the Fire Station and finally made his seat adjustment.

Hit the head and filled one bottle. Put in the wrong generic powder-bad choice as I later found out. John left early and Dan and I soon joined up climbing to Boulevard into a slight headwind. We plodded along, chatting and watching other riders blasting downhill on the other side of the road. At Boulevard, Glen and Andy were pulled off just ahead. We joined them and soon discovered an old man was having trouble standing in gusty wind.  90-year old Fred was going to the Post Office. A old neighbor lady with a yapping dog was there explaining what happened. Glen helped him sit down by a power pole, then him and Andy went around the corner to the local Fire Station for help. We all started riding again when the paramedics arrived in short order! Always nice to see randos helping other roadside.

Randos helped "Boulevard Fred" till the paramedics arrived!

Jimbo and Dave had joined up by now and we all made the downhill turn on Old Hwy. 80 after Acorn Casino. Weee... we were flying into the headwind now. Met a whole lot of riders on various bikes climbing the hill. I thought they must have been group camping by Buckman Springs somewhere and decided to ride up to Acorn! Good luck riders, most were pushing their bikes! We soon joined up behind Glen and Andy for the final fast 20mph pull to Kitchen Creek Road. Dennis had SAG water under the bridge. Michael Futch, Tim Knowles and Steve Elliott were there too. I carefully put my bike against the SAG wagon (shiny new BMW) and filled my bottle. (OK, Dan, there was already a bike there!)

John said he was going up the road and I soon joined him. Dan hooked up and then Tim. Steve was a bit behind at a steady climb pace. Andy and Glen came up and Dan joined up with them as climber pace-man! Went past Cibbits Flat Campground together and kept the unsteady climbing going. At the second gate, I stopped to take a whizz and Dan did likewise up the trail. I heard some laughing nearby and discovered 3 tourists peeking over! Nice. I rode over and chatted with them while taking a picture. Dan paced up the following miles to Sunrise Highway and then it was a blast-off to the Laguna Store Control.

John Mestemacher chats with Greg Olmstead at Mt. Laguna Control

Greg Olmstead was in full SAG control there, giving out packs of energy cookies. Those suckers packed a punch! Several riders were milling around, so I headed over to the bathrooms. Steve Elliott came over and indicated he was riding to Pine Valley instead. I watered up, chomped a E-Cookie and rode back to tell John I was slo-rolling out of there. Soloing out on the downhill from Mt. Laguna, it was gusty wind time! Dan soon joined up on the slo roll. Side-winds were kicking us all over the road. John came up to make our triplex complete for fighting the wind. I know we couldn't wait for the tailwind to kick in at the Hwy. 79 turn. Ahhhh, easy riding now through the tree lined curves and some short climbs before the long, fast run into Julian. Saw Wei Sun in his blue kit heading uphill to Cuyamaca already. That dude is ON.

Julian was packed! Was it apple pie time again? Crowds of people lined the sidewalks. Traffic galore. The downhill speed to Wynola was worth the wait. FAST. We met Tim Sullivan & Michael Futch on the way up. Didn't take long to get to the INFO at Red Barn Pizza place. 5 minute stop and we were on our way again.

Lake Cuyamaca: John scans Big Stone Wall Peak ahead

Kelly pace on the climb back to Julian. No use getting too excited. Lots of climbing left. Met Dave Horwitt going to Wynola, can't miss his cap! Dan set the uphill tempo from Julian to Sunrise Hwy. Met Kathy & Jack Twitchell rolling downhill. Side-wind really kicked in as John led out past Cuyamaca Lake. Sun was starting to drop behind the mountains to the west and made for some good photo shots. Finally, we made it up to the Fire Station/State Park. Time to put some clothes on.

Surprisingly it wasn't dark yet! Guess John and I had been thinking of the Pines To Cactus ride and the timing when we got to the station. Did the whizz-bang, put on the arm warmers, glove liners and reflective wind vest. Helmet light, rear blinkies and a chug of power water. We were off to the races now with Dan leading through the curves. Wasn't cold at all. Not even dark enough for usable lights. We had our front lights on "blink" mode. Comfortable ride down to Old Highway 80 this trip. Paced our way up to Guatay and finally the last, fast downhill into Pine Valley with no double flats this time. Pulled into the Majors parking lot where Greg was waiting to sign off the cards. Tim Sullivan was pulling out and noticed my "blinkies".

John and Dan approach Cuyamaca Fire Station for "lights on"

We loaded the bikes into John's Element. He suggested we get our "recovery shake fix" here at Majors. We conned Dan into joining up. Walking around the front, we soon discovered the place just closed! Bummer. We said "adios' to Dan for a good ride and headed down to Alpine for our recovery shake at Carl's Jr.

I dressed "spot on" for this route. Didn't need the jacket or leg warmers. The sun did the rest. Quite windy at times up on the top. Flu shot on Monday maybe took it's toll. I was hacking away and couldn't clear the lungs to get a full breath at higher output levels on the Kitchen Creek climb. Sounded like Jimbo at times. Legs were good all day and looking back, I never sat down one time all route. After Wynola, I was "feelin' it" Took one Advil early for the side left tendon. Didn't eat "anything" and put the wrong stuff in my bottle at Jacumba for fuel. Drank OK, but probably not enough either. Pace was real high at times, esp in the Highway 80 paceline.

Energizer AA batteries didn't hold up well & I never got all the shots I wanted. Mis-took the shots of racer reptile-guy Ben Hain, but got his van. Whatever venom extract he takes really works! This dude flies! Thought I had all the later shots around Guatay too, but they never took. New batteries should give more than 40 pics. Managed only 125 pictures and 9 video segments. 3/5 for this trip

Kitchen Creek 200 Video

Clear skies
Hi: 73     Lo:39
Wind: Gusty at times

124 miles


-randorides

Home Made Cycling Reflective Vest For Cheap!

Good old Illuminite Wind Vest

Since the old Rando Belts are frowned upon (and no reflection after several washings) it's time for some new reflective night gear. Best deal going is the basic reflective vest from RUSA for $6. Ditto that for a ANSI approved Harbor Freight vest for under $6.00. Both these vests will work, but aren't really wind vests and are real open in the front for the wind to catch. RUSA has the answer for $60. Nice looking day/night reflective wind vest. John Mestemacher has one of those and it looks good.

Harbor Freight ANSI vest

Since I don't like the lime or orange look while cycling and didn't want to blow off $60, I came up with the idea of remodeling an old Performance Illuminite Vest. These were the ones that the reflection was in the total fabric. They really worked good under car lights. But after multiple washings they fade away into a solo wind vest. I'll take that and sew on some reflective stripes. Good idea, huh?




I searched locally for some fabric reflective tape. Craft stores, JoAnne's, Fabric Shops and everywhere else. Onthe web, I located several rolls of 3M tape. This is real good stuff... will take 60 washings! Problem it cost $16 for 10 feet + shipping. Nope. IDEA! I'll go to Harbor Freight and get 2 ANSI vests and take off the reflective fabric stripes! Two vest for under $9 with a 20% coupon. Bingo!

Sewing along with Bernina

Easy work to unpick the 2" stripes from one vest. Then I unpacked the Bernina sewing machine and had at it. Had to get some thread out of the sewing box to match the tape. RUSA/ACP like to see 30 sq in of reflective material on the back of your vest AND 27 sq in on the front and shoulders. Local US ANSI rules require much more reflective material: 70 inches of 2" wide reflective stripes total!

Back is finished! WOW!

I played around with the layout for a while and even put one piece on wrong side out! Quite difficult to sew those on, as the vest had "raglan" cut shoulders. These are curves seams instead of straight ones. I managed to sew a triangle thing on the back with a bar for a total reflective area of 40 sq. in. Hopefully, the front will be much easier to sew onto with straight stitches! Might try this out on the Kitchen Creek Brevet on Saturday!

Total Cost: $4:50 for reflective tape from one Harbor Freight vest.

-randorides

Feelin' Good Rub Kit

Several randos have asked about leg prep before a ride. I try to explain and have made up a PDF sheet on what I use. I rub this in really well before stretching out before a ride. This really works great to get you going and feeling good from the get-go!

1. Mark a small plastic bottle with 5 equally spaced lines.
2. Add 1 part Muscle Rub($3.87) with 4 parts of your favorite lotion or sunscreen($4-5). This ratio changes with the season. Summer may be 1/8, Winter may be 1/3. You will know what to make it by the feeling.
3. Shake very well! Add a few drops of lavender or other scent if you like.
4. Before a ride, apply with plastic gloves(100 for $.99 at Dollar Store) or rubber gloves
5. Massage those leg muscles, calves, tendons and tendonitis joints well till legs are dry.
6. During full sun rides, I spray over with Bannana Boat Sunscreen Spray. It really smells good too!
7. For long overnight rides, I'll carry a tiny bottle of this mix and wrap several plastic gloves around it.
8. After a long ride and you've cleaned up, and your masseuse isn't around (ya, right), use "The Stick" instead. Rub each muscle group at least 30 times. Calves, tendons, neck and back. Lay it on the floor for your feet. You can also use your water bottle or rolling pin in a tight squeeze!

* Background afghan for the above image hand-knitted by the Ms.(Zaharah). Colorful eh?

-randorides

Veterans Day Rando Route

Veterans Day "Not On Weekends" route

Arranged with Keith Olsen to do his "Not On Weekends" Rando Populaire today. Loaded the SOMA and rode down to the train station. Hopped the 0614 bound for Oceanside, CA. Arrived at the Coast Highway station around 0650 and rode south to the Carlsbad start at 7-Eleven.

Quite light out by 0700, but I had both rear blinkies on anyway. Came up on a MTB rider hammering along the coast on a hi-end Giant 29'er full suspension ride. Looked new to me. Had some tubeless 2.5 tires and a dropper seat-post. Said "good morning" but the asian had no answer. Must have a bad attitude today? He ran the red light at Poinsettia Lane. I caught him again near LaCosta Ave. He ran that one too! Caught him again and shadowed him on his left. He got nervous and was out of the saddle crankin' up to 18mph. I had enough of this red-light runner and ramped it up to 19mph as I passed him. He followed, sucking wind.
I notched up to 20mph. He was sucking air.
Clicked up to 21mph. He was dropping!
22mph. Gonzo!
I was planning on a nice casual ride south, but didn't appreciate this red-light runner at all. Thank goodness I never saw him again.

Didn't climb Torrey pines well at all. Had the big ring thing going, but kept dropping speed and sucking wind. I finally got my lungs blown out after UCSD. Not many students around. Must have Vet's Day off? Made good time down Gilman under overcast skies. Did the Mission Bay route, but cut off on the old Sea World Dr to the bridge and Ocean Beach Bike Path. Arrived at 0920 and didn't see Keith at the 7-Eleven yet. Went in and got a receipt, filled my bottle with water and ice. Hung around outside till I saw Keith across the street near the coffee drive thru. Went over there and sat at the table. Keith came over and we chatted for 30 minutes about rando Permanent stuff.

Nearly 1000 when we left. Took the bridge over to the Old Seaworld Dr. and cut onto the bike path, entering Mission Bay Dr. at Fiesta Island. Had a nice easy pace going till Keith's rear Planet Bike Blinkie fell off and broke apart on the rough Rose Creek Bike Path. We stopped and managed to find only one battery. I hooked Keith's blinkie up with a rubberband so it wouldn't come off again. Super long light crossing Mission Bay Dr. Finally we were climbing up Gilman Dr. and decided to ride through UCSD Campus. Only students we saw were Asian. No classes today. Road construction so we detoured out onto N. Torrey Pines Rd.

Use only this for SDrando wool jerseys!

Nice riding till we got to Solana Beach. We picked up some racer guys and diced it out with them to Encinitas. Hit Swami's bathroom and I went over to Nytro for water. Keith soon joined up for the ride north. Had a flat at my usual place by the mobile home park. Sat on the ledge and changed the tube. Thorn in my worn out Gatorskins. After a short nap, headed north to the finish in Carlsbad. Keith was headed on his homeward leg now. We said our "adios" and I rode north to see Dan Phillips at his shop.

Chatted with Dan for 20 minutes and handed over some "White Flower" balm in the tiny bottle. This is good stuff for those on the bike aches. Invited Dan to the Saturday Brevet in Pine Valley. He might come? Nice of John to give me a ride out. Left Dan and rode over to the Oceanside Train Station headed back to San Marcos. Got off the train and rode to the University to check out the Ralph's store for Ivory Snow. This is the only recommended thing for washing Woolistic Jerseys. Didn't have any. Wallie-Mart was out. Stater Bros had none. None at Albertson's either. Bummer.

Average short day on the road. One Advil day for the ankle tendon. Felt good the rest of the time with the exception of the Torrey climb. Bad climb for me. Overdue for some dirtwork!

Overcast all day
Hi: 70     Lo: 63
78 miles


-randorides

"Fix My Bike" Blast-Off

Garmin stats from the short Populaire ride today

Short ride today to check out ankle status. Did a muscle rub/stretch out and fired up the SOMA at 0700. Headed over to the local 7-Eleven for a cheapo receipt. Temps in the low 50's and the sun was just warming up. I could always wrap my bananas in the take-off arm warmers later on. Mike and Sandy were riding the Ursa Minor today and they would probably start around 0700. I might bump into them on today's route.

Big ring ride today with mid-cassette gearing. Saw one rider on Del Dios Highway and 2 more as I took a stop on Loma Santa Fe before Solana Beach. No stop for Red Velvet Donut at the shop today. I turned onto Coast Hwy. 101 and picked up 2 riders hammering along. Short racer guy and a taller, blue clad, white legged guy on a steel bike. I chatted with him a bit.. seems he is a defunct Tri rider with a bad ankle, which prevented him from running. He set a fast pace up the coast as I hit the Palomar roller hard. We caught a real racer with a BMC kit flying at 23mph. Followed him up to Oceanside, where I turned off onto the SLR. Good thing.. I was sucking air!

Picked up a big guy with a Brooks Saddle. We rode ahead of his wife and lady friend while chatting. He was from Minnesota and looks to do some long riding out here while working this winter. Gave him a Rando card as we waited for his wife to catch up. Proceeded solo over to Bonsall with a nice wind aid. Had my usual HF Sundae laced with GU. Ate a carry along banana and stretched out. No riders around there this late in the AM. Filled my bottle and hit the road. Saw some riders at the intersection of Hwy. 76.

Felt good on the 17mph leg over to Hwy. 395. 3 racers pulled in front near Old Castle Road. I figured if I could maintain loose contact with them, I might be able to pace up Champagne climb. Not to be as they cranked er up to 20 mph past Lawrence Welk Resort. They had a 1/2 mile on me as we started the climb. I almost caught one dropped rider before the top. A little under 12 minutes for that climb in the big ring. I welcomed the rough Centre City downhill. Caught some remnants of the NCCC ride at Country Club Drive. Brad said they were coming in from Valley Center. Drafted them over to Mulberry where I said "adios" . I was finished up for today.

Good ride today. Lots of speed work all the way up the coast. Made it up Champagne after a long week of riding in the sore tendon ankle. Probably a 4/5. Kitchen Creek next Saturday. Might go if John rides. Keith O. is talking about a Veterans Day ride along the coast. He is hesitant about riding with someone.

Clear skies and sunny today
Hi: Hi 80's    Lo: 54
67 miles

-randorides

Ursa Minor Windage

High Wind Advisory today inland. Flags were flying!

Hi-wind warning today for the inland areas with a fire danger warning thrown in too! Thought about the Hemet route but soon nixed the idea when @ 0500 winds were in the 20+ mph range up there. Looks like Ursa Minor in REVERSE today. Did a detail check of the SOMA G'skin Hardshells yesterday. Those suckers are just about done in. Esp the rear! Wearing thin with holes, cracks and slices. I did remove several small pieces of hidden glass from both tires. I'm running them to the cords, brother!

Left as the sun was peaking over the hills to the east. Headed north (reverse) and soon stripped off my arm warmers. Wearing the classic shredded RUSA jersey from the Feb. 13, 2013 rear end hit. Stopped at Bonsall McDonalds for a ice refill. Chatted with a old couple who said what a nice day for a bike ride! Yes, I agree. Any day you can ride with wheels is a good day! Big tailwind on Hwy. 76 westward as I was out of gears! SLR had a slight tailwind as I steadied at 19mph. Thought I saw Ron Peterson riding a recumbent with a windshield? Used to ride with him as he now rides with Pete Pensyres on Wednesdays from Bonsall. As I neared the harbor, the wind turned to NW.

Watched BP drug-search on I-5 near Trestles

Took the I-5 route northward, by-passing the Camp. Side wind along there. Hit the headwind after the Las Pulgas exit. No construction south of there, yet. Hooked up with 2 TT racers for a while. They soon left me as I went back to my norm of 17mph into the headwind, slogging up the coast. By the time I got to the bikeway north of San Clemente, my legs felt like rubber. Got a full shake at SLO and added a new flavor of GU: Orange Burst! The road back was much easier with the slight tailwind pushing. Nice push back up the hill to San Clemente! I hit that hard in a big ring combo. Stopped and watched the Border Patrol boys do a dog-drug search of a car along side I-5. Looks like they were a little disappointed in no positive results!

Maintained a nice easy 20 mph through the campground. Turned through the Camp and chatted a bit with the Marines on sentry duty at the gate. Stopped for 2 OFR riders who had left Orange early. They were ahead of the main OFR gruppo. Rode with them through the Camp. Nice easy riding south along the coast, as the slight tailwind made it enjoyable with little energy. I was blasting everything at 20 mph. The turn inland at Solana Beach was a different matter. Not much wind to Rancho Santa Fe town. After that it was a headwind slog up to Escondido. Took the Inland Rail Trail over to San Marcos under temps in the high 80's.

Middle part of the route was a slog into the wind. After that, it felt like I was riding good again! Hehe. Only the tailwind, bud!  Got in some hi-speed work with the TT riders and with the wind. Regular rating for this ride.

Clear sunny skies
Hi: 88    Lo: 54
125 miles

-randorides

Sandia Creek Odd Adventures

High Wind Advisory with High Fire Danger today!

DRR=Double Reverse Route! That's what is was today. Overnight temps plunged down to 43 degrees, so with ride chill temps into the 30's it was a after sunrise start for me! Don't appreciate the cold stuff anymore when you can have full sun and WARMTH if you wait 1 hour. I did just that and rolled out of San Marcos at 0730 for the Sandia Creek Century. Started northward on the first part of the "Reverse".

NOTES:
1. High wind warning today for foothills. Light Santa Ana also brought high fire danger warnings. Yep, that's where I was going! Hit the headwinds near Rainbow and Rancho California Road climb. Hunkered down and ground it out.

2. 2 bananas for $1 at Temecula 7-Eleven. Combined that with 95 cent IC Sandwich for a snack control. By-passed my usual longer stop at Carl's Jr. next door on Bedfort Court. Met several local club racers... black/red kits and they didn't look like they were having fun.

3. Dude walking up Rancho California Road! He was sitting on the guardrail as I approached and then took off race-walking near the upper curved section. I slowed and chatted with him while avoiding the traffic and glass. Works down the hill and he has a sore back so can't do tri stuff anymore. Says he is old at 64! Made me feel good after that. I mentioned his death power-walk up this road with traffic and no "walk" lanes. Also there is an option no-traffic road up the hill further east. NAW! I hit the gas "on-climb" and cooked toward Sandia Creek Road.

4. Nice tailwind smokin' the Sandia Creek rollers! Garmin was recording multiple 40+ mph blasts through DeLuz. Yes, I stopped at the stop signs too. Multiple signs pointing to "Polling Place" I rolled over and checked out the voting turnout. Mostly local older homeowners driving MB's!

Rockhopper dude had a set-up like this!

5. Newer Specialized Rockhopper guy pulling a utility cart down Mission Road from Fallbrook! He was pulled over so I slowed and chatted with him roadside as massive traffic was whizzing by. Nice looking grey Specialized niner. Middle aged guy with a Wal-Mart little girls pink bike in the cart basket. It was hooked to his rear rack with a eye-bolt setup. One of the cart wheels was rubbing on the side of the cart basket. Nice! Said he was going back to Vista. I said "Good Luck" and cranked 'er up, turning at Heller's Bend to get away from the traffic for a bit.

6. HF Sundae with GU Orange Blast for snack at Bonsall. Yep, had to keep my energy up with this mix. I'm off freebie colas of late, so I opted for cold clear chlorinated water.

7. Lite application of "White Flower". Put on at Temecula stop with a side of 500mg Advil. Tendon felt better this back-to-back ride day.

8. Time Change. This jacks me up every year. Wake up at the same brain clock time, which is 1 hour earlier than clock time. AZ land has it right!

9. 4/5. Added another leather sole-tread to balance my right SIDI shoe. That balanced my right foot back correct again when flat on the Crank Bros pedal.. Felt good out of the saddle this trip. Quads were a little "tired". Left ankle tendon didn't hurt all day as usual. Guess the rub killed the pain. Good ride. Looking for a longer 200km on Thursday. OFR Gruppo is doing the Metro Train thing and ride back. No interest, but it's a fun time.

Clear skies
Hi: 78    Lo: 56
98 miles

- randorides

Shorty Route With Beoshield T-9 Stop

Beoshield Lube works good and clean

After 2 days working in the garage on projects waiting for the "big rain" to arrive (never did), it's time to hit the roads. Dip cleaned the SOMA directional 6701 chain and lubed it up with Beoshield yesterday. Had a few errands to do before I could start riding in earnest this morning. It was about 0800 when I punched the Garmin. Sun was up with the new Standard Time change over the weekend. That time thing usually takes me a week to adjust. Means more sun for those early starts and getting dark at 1700! Makes for short ride days.

Not a happy camper with my present rechargeable light system. Still checking one of those Panasonic GQ-CC17 chargers. COSTCO has the package with AA & AAA batteries + this Charger for $29.95 OR $19.95(sometimes SALE ITEM). These are top rated along with their Eneloop Batteries. Too bad I don't have a COSTCO Card anymore. Bought a decent $19 Charger from Harbor Freight the other day. It charged my batteries good, but was on a timer only. No "Smart Charger" there! ( In other words, no matter what the state of the battery charge, they charged for 8 hours! "Smart Chargers" will have separate charge channels and monitor each battery separate for charge state.) Took that Charger back to Harbor Freight real quick. Just because it says "Smart Charger", they all aren't. False advertising, I guess?

Top rated "Smart Charger"

Rode south through Escondido and over to SR-56 Bike Path. Checking the pain tolerance on the left ankle. Took a dose of Advil and some "White Flower" early and that neutralized stuff. Stopped by the Solana Donuts for a Red Velvet. Ate that as I managed a headwind up the coast. Stopped by Nytro to refill my single bottle. Rode around and over to REI to check bikes and stuff. Picked up a bottle of Beoshield. Price went up again to $10! Some REI girl was putting the pressure on me to join the REI Club thing. Heck no! For ever, I just put my purchases under John's account. He gets the % back at the end of each year. She said I could take a MTB niner out for a test ride. I said "Over the weekend?" Haha. She also thought she knew all about bike repair. LOL. Must be a new hire? Rode north and around the SLR over to Bonsall and back to San Marcos. Ankle felt OK then.

Quick ride on a nice wind day.

Sunshine
Hi: 74     Lo: 55
81 miles

-randorides